Arch of Triumph Constructed in New York City

As the UN General Assembly started in New York, during which hundreds of diplomatic and political dignitaries gather for a week-long discussion on key global issues such as terrorism, a reproduction of the Roman Triumphal Arch of Palmyra, a 2,000-year-old structure in Syria that was destroyed by Isis last year, was unveiled on Monday at City Hall Park in New York.

The rebuilding of the arch, given the climate in the city following the explosion of homemade terrorist bombs in Manhattan and New Jersey on Saturday, “references the value of things like democracy”, says Dr Alexy Karenowska, the director of technology of the Institute of Digital Archaeology, which helped create the replica. It also helps draw connections between cultures. “The arch frames City Hall very beautifully, where the classical architecture of the structures very much mirror one another and shows a great link between Eastern and Western cultural reach,” Karenowska adds.